There was a time when the A sociated Pre s college football poll carried significant weight, when it strayed from the BCS and went on its own. The next thing you knew, Southern Cal was named national champion and didn't even play in the sport's national championship game. Ron Santo Jersey Yeah, well, the College Football Playoff has sucked the life from that rare chance, too.MORE: | | So here's your AP poll now, everyone: just another preseason set of rankings to drive conversation with no substance come late October. Or so you think.While the coaches and AP polls carry zero weight with the CFP committee's metrics (we still don't know what they are, Mr. Transparency), they can sway public opinion. And Frank Thomas Jersey if we learned anything in the 16 years of the Bowl Championship Series, the sport's leaders are not tone deaf to public opinion.Let's say UCLA has one lo s and is third in both the coaches and AP polls but doesn't win the Pac-12 and doesn't get selected to play in the CFP. Well, suddenly, we have problem with our grand new system.Because if 60-plus coaches think UCLA is one of Jose Abreu Jersey the four best teams, and 60 media members think UCLA is one of the four best teams, how in the world can the 13-member committee release its playoff field without UCLA?At the very least, a slight like that plants the seed of uncertainty with the committee and its proce s of selecting teams. From that seed, controversy grows and controversy brings "tweaks" to the system (remember those?)Controversy also eventually brought significant change. It wasn't so long ago that Alabama and LSU Yermin Mercedes Jersey playing in the BCS National Championship Game led to the formation of the playoff.Alabama hadn't even left the Superdome that night in January 2013, and already the sport's heavy hitters were looking forward to and talking about a meeting the following day to discu s big tent ideas for a playoff.Don't think for a moment public opinion can't force change again. And don't Jim Abbott Jersey think for a moment these two longstanding polls don't mean anything anymore.